Ryujin
Ryujin – Napalm Records
Ryujin’s fifth and self-titled album is a feast for the ears and the imagination. Alongside the familiar guitars, bass and drums they incorporate traditional Japanese instruments such as Shamisen, Dragon Flute, Erhu, and Taiko. To those unfamiliar with those you will be able to hear the flutes and various instruments throughout which give this record a extra bit of sparkle. They have managed to blend death, thrash, power and folk metal into one body of work. One of the things which makes this album so special is the lyrics and story of every track which you can quite literally follow along to. They have a theme which is based on the words of the ‘Ainu people of Hokkaido (Ryujin’s home region), as well as famous Japanese paintings and idioms’. Mathew K Heafy of Trivium features on various tracks including ‘Raijin & Fujin’ which gives an anime vibe at times which is quite fun. The song tells a tale of a God of thunder which ends in a thunderous eruption which perfectly opens for the next track. ‘Rainbow Song’ washes the previous storm away, clearing the skies with optimism and light. ‘Saigo No Hoshi’ is the first fully Japanese track on the album and we feel it is one of their stand-out tracks. This one is a ballad and powerful at that, even without translating the lyrics you can feel everything coming through. ‘Guren No Yumiya’ is also in Japanese and German which makes for an interesting and powerful mix of vocabulary. Mixing screamo, melodic and chanting vocals and taking inspiration from their backgrounds and various metal genres this album is very eclectic and exciting to listen to. ‘Saigo No Hoshi’ finishes with an absolutely stunning love song also featuring Heafy.
Review by Aggy Gillon